After you are done with applying to the universities of your choice, the next step is to get an offer letter from those Universities. An offer letter essentially means that you have been accepted for the program you applied to. There are two types of offer letters that universities can send: conditional and unconditional. Here we will discuss a few differences between the two.
A conditional offer letter has specific conditions with it. It means you need to have certain grades or marks for the same, whereas unconditional offer letter has no conditions with it, and reflects that your grades, whether high or low, have been accepted by the University.
Unconditional offer letter is given to international students who have already met the entrance requirements to the university, and they have already accepted you as a student at the university. If you have submitted all the required documents and have paid the fees, the university would give you an unconditional offer letter. This type of letter is required for the purpose of acquiring a student loan from bank.
In case of a conditional offer letter, it is offered when there are some pending documents left to be submitted. These could be copy of passport, last semester mark sheet, scores of IELTS/TOEFL etc. Due to lack of time, some students may not be able to provide all documents and details to the admissions department. In these cases the university will confirm their interest in the student based on a condition; that all formalities be completed within two to three months.
Sometimes, conditional offer letters affect the visa procedure. If the conditional offer letter has requirements that have to be completed after entering the country, then the visa application can proceed normally. However, if there are requirements that have to be fulfilled before the student leaves his/her home country, then the visa procedure may get delayed.
In short, all required formalities have to be completed before you apply for the visa. Unless you are applying direct your education consultant will work with the university to arrange the offer letter
